Unexpected

Oh, I should have started earlier on this. I spent a long time on my bug walk today, and found a lot more than I expected to find. Oddly, I found insects that I did not expect to find, too, including one I found even before I went outside with my camera.

Like this green lacewing that was on the skylight over my bathroom sink:

This is not the time of year when I usually see lacewings. I had to stand on the bathroom counter, straddling the sink, to get pictures of this. It was not the safest, most stable photo shoot. But it's a cool bug, so I had to do it.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

This is an ichneumon wasp, I think species Coelichneumon sassacus. I have been trying to get a good picture of one for the last several months; for a while I was seeing them, but not getting close enough for pictures, or they would not sit still, and then fly away. This one, which I found crawling on the leaf litter, was much more cooperative.

I like it because it's blue.

Other Bugs:

I saw the full set of Orthoptera again today: a katydid...

... some crickets...

... and a grasshopper

Candy striped leaf hoppers on their favorite gathering tree for the colder months.

Milkweed bug nymphs:

There weren't many insects on the chrysanthemums today (and I didn't get pictures of the majority of them):

Sweat bee

Plant bug

Fly. I saw a lot of flies today, mostly basking on the sunny side of the house, or on the sunny side of rocks, or on the sunny side of tree trunks. The interesting thing about this fly is that it was on the shady side of a tree, and the other day when it was BBotD, and I saw several that day, they were all also in the shade while most bugs, and especially flies, have been soaking up all the sun's warmth as much as possible.

This one wasn't in a super sunny spot, either. I'm not sure if it's the same species, though. It doesn't really look like it, but sometimes males and females look different, and they do look quite of similar.

Swarm of winter crane flies:

Plume moth. Another one I was surprised to see at this time of year.

Looper caterpillar climbing a tree:

This dragonfly (it could be the same one) was very cooperative again today:

I saw a couple of the little, red dragonflies, but they were not so interesting in sitting for pictures.

And now for a different side of nature:

Deer skull, found in the overgrown field that is part of the property we bought this past summer. I can't help but think that the reason it is so clean is because there were beetles and other insects that ate away everything but the bone.

Arachnid Appreciation:
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Goldenrod spider, on goldenrod that has gone to seed